When Lejeune battles Dixon tonight, first place in the Coastal Plains 1-A Conference won’t be on the line.

Southwest has secured the CPC’s No. 1 playoff seed and should clinch the title outright tonight against heavy underdog Pamlico.

But the Devilpups (5-5, 3-1) and the Bulldogs (6-3, 3-1) will be vying for second place in the league as well as a likely home game in the first round of the playoffs. The loser may also get to open the playoffs next week at home, but the winner will almost certainly not have to pack up and hit the road.

Beyond that, Dixon, which figures to be in the 1-AA playoffs, is chasing its first seven-win regular season in more than four decades, and the Bulldogs have never hosted a playoff game in school history.

Lejeune, meanwhile, while will almost certainly be in the 1-A playoffs, is looking for back-to-back winning seasons for only the second time since the mid 1980s along with its third straight win over the Bulldogs, having won last year 47-30 and 54-20 in 2010.

The playoff pairings will be announced Saturday.

Dixon is coming off a 41-16 win at East Carteret and has won three straight since a 49-19 loss to Southwest while Lejeune fell 51-6 at Southwest, snapping a three-game winning streak.

“They’re the best Dixon team we’ve seen. So that means we’ve got to bring it,” Lejeune coach Darryl Schwartz said. “Now having six turnovers like we did at Southwest will kill us and we’ll probably not do well obviously.

“(But) the kids seem ready. The talk in the locker room is we need to bring it guys to the game. … It’s going to be a big game. My kids know.”

So does Dixon, although coach Ray Swaney was more understated as he talked about what will be his team’s final regular-season game at home.

“We’re excited about the game,” Swaney said. “It is (a big game). But every game that we’ve played this year has been a big game for us, that’s the way we’ve treated it. But this one obviously is also.

“We feel like Lejeune’s a good team. They’ve got the No. 3 running back in the state (Jamaz Richardson). I guess he’s No. 3. He might be No. 1, I don’t know. But he’s pretty good. So we’ve got work to do.”

A year ago the guy Richardson replaced, Akile Jones, rushed for a state-record 490 yards and 6 touchdowns. This time around Richardson, who has 1,987 yards, will be looking to go over 2,000 yards rushing while helping his team win.

But Dixon has its own offensive firepower in quarterback C.D. Hansley, who has 1,003 yards rushing, and running back Malik Simmons, who needs 40 yards to go over 1,000 yards on the ground.

Win or lose, both teams are in the playoffs. But given Dixon will be 1-AA and Lejeune 1-A, it’s likely win or lose both could play at home, although that won’t be known for sure until Saturday when the playoff brackets come out.

Swaney said he didn’t “even know” whether the Bulldogs would be at home if they win.

“I really haven’t looked that far out,” he said. “We just want to win Friday night and whatever the state determines I guess is going to be fine with us.”

Schwartz is taking a slightly different approach. Taking the “you-never-know” approach, Schwartz has told his players they have to win to get a home playoff game and if they lose “we’re going to go away.”

“We’ll be traveling 48 hours,” he joked.

Seriously, however, he said he didn’t want any thoughts of what might happen if Lejeune loses. Instead, he wanted his players focused on what winning would mean.

“I wish it could just be an easy game at the end and we just move on,” Schwartz said. “But, no, it’s probably got to be one of the biggest games we’ve had in years. There’s a lot riding on it.”

East Duplin (9-1, 6-0) at Northside (10-0, 6-0)

This is for the East Central 2-A Conference title.

Since 2007, the league championship has been won by either East Duplin or Northside with the Panthers earning the title in 2009 and 2010 and the Monarchs winning it in 2007, 2008 and 2011.

Northside won 41-30 last year in Beulaville to win the conference title.

Northside is ranked second in The Associated Press state 2-A poll while East Duplin seventh.

The Monarchs beat Clinton 34-0 last week while the Panthers defeated Swansboro 24-6 last week.

White Oak (1-9, 1-5) at Jacksonville (6-4, 3-3)

Jacksonville hopes to end a 2-game losing streak while solidifying its seed in the NCHSAA 3-A playoffs with a victory over previously winless White Oak.

The Vikings were given a win over D.H. Conley, which lost its appeal to the NCHSAA, which ruled the school had to forfeit wins over WOHS and West Craven for use of an ineligible player.

White Oak, which lost 40-14 to West Craven last week, has beaten Jacksonville in three consecutive games. Jacksonville is coming off a 31-14 loss to D.H. Conley.

Southwest (8-1, 4-0) at Pamlico (1-8, 1-3)

Southwest can wrap up the outright CPC title with a win at Pamlico.

Additionally, the Stallions can finish conference play with a 20-0 record in their four years in the league. Southwest will move up to 2-A next year.

The Stallions earned the CPC’s top playoff seed last week with a 51-6 victory at Lejeune. Pamlico lost 20-0 to Jones Senior.

Topsail (6-3, 4-2) at Swansboro (4-6, 1-5)

Swansboro hosts ECC foe Topsail, which is hoping to secure third place in the ECC with a victory.

With a win, Swansboro still has an outside shot of a playoff berth.

Swansboro lost 24-6 at East Duplin last week while Topsail beat Richlands 41-6.

Richlands (3-7, 2-4) at Croatan (5-4, 3-3)

This ECC game could have implications on who advances to the state playoffs.

If the Wildcats win, they could land a postseason berth, but if the Cougars win they will finish fourth and almost assuredly land a berth in the playoffs.

Richlands lost 41-6 to Topsail last week while Croatan beat South Lenoir 24-17.

Jones Senior (1-8, 1-3) at East Carteret (1-7, 0-4)

The scary thing is the winner of this CPC contest could very well end up in the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs, despite both Jones Senior and East Carteret with a combined two wins.

The Trojans look for their second consecutive victory. Jones Senior beat Pamlico 20-0 last week while East Carteret lost 41-16 to Dixon.